OLYMPIANS SET TO BATTLE AT UAE HEALTHY KIDNEY 10-K
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NEW YORK (12-May) -- Five London-bound Olympians are set to compete at today's 8th annual UAE Healthy Kidney 10-K here in Central Park this morning. The New York Road Runners said they expected about 8500 runners to toe the starting line in near-perfect spring racing conditions.
Leading the field are the three men who comprise the USA Men's Olympic Marathon Team: Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman. In August, Keflezighi will be running his second Olympic Marathon (he was the silver medalist in Athens in 2004), Hall his second (he finished 10th in Beijing in 2008), and Abdirahman his first (he also competed in the Olympic 10,000m three times). The three men have 10,000m personal best times of 27:13.98, 28:07.93, and 27:16.99, respectively.
Also using today's race as a tune-up for the London Games are Australia's Ben St. Lawrence and Italy's Daniele Meucci, both first-time Olympians who will compete in the 10,000m. St. Lawrence, who competed in both the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has a 10,000m career best of 27:24.95. Meucci, who has two European Championships bronze medals --one in cross country and one at 5000m-- just set a 10,000m personal best of 27:32.86 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University on April 29.
Other top entrants in the rolling, one-loop road race include former Iona College star Leonard Korir of Kenya (27:29.40 PB) and USA Olympic team hopeful Bobby Curtis (27:24.67). Immediately following this morning's race, Korir will attend the Iona graduation and receive his bachelor's degree in political science.
The UAE Healthy Kidney 10-K has the largest first prize of any 10-K road race in the world: USD 25,000. The course record is 27:35 by Kenya's Leonard Patrick Komon in 2011.
PHOTO: Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman at the observation deck of the Empire State Building on Thursday (photo courtesy of the Empire State Building)
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